Notes: Short chapter... I'M SORRY ;A; The original chapter here was way too long so I had to cut it in two. Part two comes tomorrow at the earliest XD;;

Part XVI

Arthur woke up to the smell of musty forest. It was still dark; the fire nearby dyed the trees a dancing golden-red.

"Harry…" he choked out, clutching at his chest. "He's gone…" It was true; he knew it without seeing it.

The Boy Who Lived was dead.

"Shush…" a gentle voice said, and Arthur looked into the face of a beautiful lady. She bore a likeness to Morgana le Fay, the sorceress of Arthurian times. Long silvery hair cascaded down her back, contrasting with royal blue robes. Her grey eyes sparkled with wisdom and age. "He's not dead yet."

"B-but how?" Arthur asked, as she took his hand. "I felt his death!"

She nodded. "You did. But Harry was Voldemort's seventh Horcrux."

Arthur sat up. "That's possible?" he asked hoarsely.

"Indeed." The woman stood up, helping him up as she did so and walking towards the fire. The unicorn was resting near the fire; several faeries were asleep on its back. "The night Voldemort killed the Potters, a part of his soul was blasted into Harry. That explains why Harry is a Parselmouth and can look into Voldemort's mind."

Arthur nodded, looking into the depths of the flames. "You're Erised, aren't you?" he asked after a moment. The faerie nodded.

"This is my larger form when I wish to consult with humans," she said solemnly. "Although I rarely choose to do that. Muggles and Wizards alike have driven us faeries into hiding. Soon our colony will die out as well." Her expression was resigned; she looked weary and aged. "I do not wish to fight the inevitable."

"You sound like Kiku," Arthur noted. She raised an eyebrow and he looked away, blushing. "Sorry I said that."

"No need to apologise, England." Her eyes shone with warmth. "I've been longing to see you again."

Arthur looked at her, fascinated. Erised looked off into the stars. For a moment they could pretend that there was no battle outside their clearing, that Harry Potter was dead and that Arthur's loved ones were probably dying.

"Your mother, Islode, moved into your grandfather's house a long time ago, when the Anglo-Saxon tribes were just beginning to invade Great Britain. At first she and your father, Tristan, didn't get along, but gradually they learned to live alongside each other despite cultural differences. That eventually led to their marriage."

"And when was I born?" Arthur asked curiously, but Erised smiled.

"Your brother Arawn was born first," the faerie recounted. "But he ran off when your mother died during the Lindisfarne attacks. Islode was reborn as a child with no memory of her past; it was painstaking for Tristan to watch her grow again. She had to rediscover her Nation self, had to recover her love for Tristan. He was heartbroken and came to me for help.

"I gave him a spell that would make her fall in love with the first person she sees, but he dared not use it on her. However, her curiosity led to her discovery of this spell and love was reborn in her heart. The romance began once more, but this time it was too late. Tristan was weakening – Islode was losing him right before her eyes.

"She had two more children – you and Peter – before dying. Your uncles, the fathers of Erin and Liam, took you and Peter in and raised you until their deaths. From then on, your cousins – although I think you call them siblings – brought you up. I was there often; I tried to be a mother figure to all of you. But the faeries were being pushed to extinction and to take you into hiding would be unwise for your education.

"I travelled to the house of your mother's father and recovered his diaries, intending to keep safe the secrets of the Nations. My forest was soon settled by four great wizards and witches intending on building a school of magic. Previously, those who wished to learn magic went to Ireland. This was no longer the case. With Hogwarts, magic became institutionalised. I immediately provided for your family's magical education, telling the Founders your secrets.

"They were immensely interested and sought out all the Nations in the world, intending on educating all of them. This is why all Nations have had their names down for Hogwarts for centuries. It did not matter that Nations could die and be reborn as children – every time that happened they would simply return to Hogwarts to relearn their skills and recover their memories."

Erised's eyes closed; Arthur gazed at her from his seat.

"Dumbledore said you were his friend. You lent him your Mirror."

"Ah, so you know about my mirror?"

Arthur nodded. "It shows onlookers their deepest, darkest desires."

"Indeed." Erised looked off into the distance, obviously remembering why she had to create the mirror in the first place. Arthur didn't press for details.

"Do you still have it?" he asked after a moment. Erised nodded.

"Come, you must look into it again," she said gently, standing up. Arthur did so, taking out the parcel from the inside folds of his robes.

"Here. It's Odoacer's diary entries on Islode and Dumbledore's glasses," he said, handing it to her. "You ought to keep them, even if they're about my mum."

She smiled, taking the parcel. "Thank you, Arthur. I should give you something in return, then."

They walked into the shadows of the trees, Erised guiding the way. In an adjoining clearing stood the mirror, looking very out of place.

"I call this clearing my study," Erised said, and suddenly the clearing glowed with brilliant spheres of floating light. "And behold... my masterpiece."

Arthur walked up to the mirror, touching cool glass as he looked inside. His breath hitched in his throat.

He saw himself, bathed in light from the forest. But standing with him was Kiku, smiling at him with a little girl in his arms. She waved at him – he recognised her as the little girl from his dreams.

"Is that all you desire now, Arthur?" Erised asked, breaking the spell of the moment. Arthur turned around to look at her.

"It's all I'll ever want after Voldemort falls," Arthur replied quietly.

She smiled at him. "True love is a noble cause, a noble desire," she said, her voice enigmatic. Walking over to a tree, she came back with a little box. Inside it was an ornately carved silver ring. "This was the token your father gave your mother in honour of their betrothal. It should be yours now."

Arthur nodded, smiling as he took the ring and pocketed it. The smile faded as he heard the sound of marching Death Eaters and giants. "The battle," he gasped, having almost forgotten it. "Will you help us?" he asked, looking at her beseechingly.

Erised nodded. "Love is something worth fighting for, Arthur."

"It's been more than an hour," Kiku said after a moment. "Does that mean…?"

"Oh no!" Ginny cried suddenly, bursting into tears as she realised the implications of the added peace. "Harry!"

Kiku held onto her as she sobbed violently into his shoulder. Nataliya gave a little wail and buried her face in Alfred's chest. Francis held his face in his hands, his shoulders racking with sobs.

"It might not be Harry's death –" Alfred started to say, but he was cut off by Voldemort's magically magnified voice.

"Harry Potter is dead."

Everyone in the Great Hall froze at that; Ginny sobbed even harder into Kiku's shoulder.

"He was killed as he ran away, trying to save himself while you lay down your lives for him. We bring you his body as proof that your hero is gone."

"No!" Alfred cried, his face white with horror. Francis looked up, tear tracks glistening in his cheeks. Gilbert Beilschmidt and Antonio Carriedo sat down next to him, patting his back comfortingly.

"The battle is won," Voldemort continued. "You have lost half of your fighters. My Death Eaters outnumber you, and the Boy Who Lived is finished. There must be no more war. Anyone who continues to resist, man, woman, or child, will be slaughtered, as will every member of their family. Come out of the castle now, kneel before me, and you shall be spared. Your parents and children, your brothers and sisters will live and be forgiven, and you will join me in the new world we shall build together." There was silence after that, silence that pressed horribly upon Kiku's eardrums and heart.

"Ve, it can't be," Feliciano Vargas whimpered. "He can't be dead, ve!"

"I'm sorry, Feli," Ludwig whispered, burying his face in Feliciano's auburn hair. The Italian bawled, vocalising Kiku's thoughts with his sobbing.

"No… it can't be… I don't want to believe…"

"Let's go outside, see for ourselves…"

The defenders of Hogwarts filed out of the castle to see for themselves.

Arthur rode through the forest on the back of the unicorn, the smaller version of Erised sitting on his shoulder. The rest of the faeries followed him.

"Bane," Erised said quietly as they approached the centaurs. "Will you fight with us?"

The centaur nodded. "Harry Potter is dead; we must avenge him. It disheartens us that we must fight in honour of a human, but if we do not, his adversary will make sure that we meet extinction. You surely must understand."

"I do," Erised replied. "We will fight together, for Harry, for freedom, and for love."

The centaurs nodded.

They marched through the forest.

Notes: I KNOW, THE CORNY. IT BURNS. ;A; BUT THAT'S WHAT YOU GET WITH FAERIES.

Tristan and Islode Kirkland have no real relation to the Tristan and Islode of Arthurian mythology - although now that I come to think of it, hurhurhur. I just took their names because 1) Islode does use that magic potion and falls in love with Tristan and 2) They're a bit of a bittersweet couple like the original.

Another poll on my profile. Take it, s'il vous plait. It's about whether or not I should write a whole Behind the Scenes thing for BHL and ND, since I did do a crapload of research for something that was a midnight musing and I was wondering if you guys were curious about the process behind these two fics (AND I WANT TO SHOW OFF JUST HOW MUCH OF A NERD I AM). If you have a more in-depth explanation for your vote, please tell me in review or something. Thank you.